The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) resumed negotiations this week (4/17) in hopes of hammering out a new contract. The current pact expires on May 2.
This marks the first time in nearly seven weeks that the two sides have formally gotten together. Their initial round of talks broke off on March 1.
The commercialmaking community will be keeping a watchful eye on these latest proceedings. As previously reported (SHOOT, 4/13, p. 1), a writers’ strike against the TV/feature studios could have a negative ripple effect on the advertising industry. Similarly, there are concerns that a possible actors’ strike against the feature/TV biz could compromise the fall TV program season, causing advertisers to pull back on their investments in new spot production. The Screen Actors Guild/ AMPTP contract expires in July.
Meanwhile, City Hall has gotten into the act. Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan hopes to help avert any strike action by heightening public awareness of just how much the city’s economy would be damaged in the event of a strike or strikes. Through a mayoral discretionary fund, he has hired the Milken Institute and Segabo Associates to jointly conduct a study designed to pinpoint how many jobs and how much tax revenue would be lost, and which sectors of the economy would be hurt.
"Any strike would devastate thousands of innocent victims who are not represented at the bargaining table, across a range of industries," Riordan stated. "We must also acknowledge that a strike will cause tax revenue shortfalls that will affect city services like police protection, sanitation, fire and transportation, and other government services as well."
The Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit organization, has already pegged the cost of any strike action at $457 million per week, and the UCLA Anderson Business Forecast reported that Hollywood strikes would contribute to a regional economic slowdown.
"Both the studios and the guilds have much to lose and little to gain," related Riordan. "Working toward a compromise and avoiding a strike is both the smart thing and the right thing to do. I hope that by gathering and publicizing solid information on the impact of strikes, I will be able to persuade all parties to find common ground and avert a strike. It is my responsibility to look out for the future of Los Angeles, and to make sure the concerns of those who are not represented in the negotiations are brought into the process."
The Milken Insitute is a nonprofit independent economic think tank that is a resource for economic and public policy research and analysis. Sebago Associates is a public policy consulting firm.
